I-Team: ‘Designer Breed' Puppies Adopted as $1,500 Rescues (2024)

A New York/New Jersey animal rescue organization is underfire after paying commercial breeders for “designer” mix-breed puppies, thencharging as much as $1,500 to adopt them out as rescue dogs.

In Our Hands Rescue uses social media to advertise littersof Goldendoodles, Aussiedoodles, Mini Bernadoodles, Jackapoos, Akipoos, andother in-demand “doodle” dogs acquired from out-of-state “wire cagekennels.” The organization’s President, Jennifer Lamb, says the puppieshave slight imperfections, like overbites, and would be euthanized if shedidn’t pay a ransom to the unethical breeders.

“If we do not pay that, these dogs will be dead. There’s no doubt about it,” Lamb said. “I actually had a breeder just last week tell me, ‘They’re not even worth the bullet.I will snap it’s neck.’”

But critics of the controversial adoption model havemultiplied online, some comparing the nonprofit rescue organization to afor-profit pet store, especially because its adoption events overwhelminglyfeature breeder puppies as young as 9 weeks old.

“Not sure how these high-end breeds are rescued pups,”wroteone person who reviewed In Our Hands on Google.

“15 hundred for a rescue doodle? No thanks,” wroteanother.

Genevieve Sachs, who paid $1,500 for a Sheepadoodle namedJunie B, said she began to question her puppy’s backstory when she consideredthe number of dogs at the adoption event advertised as being rescued from thesame litter.

“Let's say there were 7 to 10 litters the day I was there,” Sachs said. “They're all going that same day times 15 hundred dollars. That's a boatload of money.”

JP Goodwin, Senior Director of the Humane Society Stop PuppyMills Campaign, condemned the idea of paying fees to commercial breeders andclaiming you’ve saved their dogs.

“We vehemently oppose any organization claiming to be arescue, when they are turning around and buying dogs from puppymills.That’s not rescue,” Goodwin said. “That’s paying for anotherdog to be put in a cage to replace the one that just came out.”

After the I-Team discovered several In Our Hands puppiesadvertised on “The Shelter Pet Project,” a website funded by the HumaneSociety, the animal advocacy group banned In Our Hands from posting on the websiteand posted a disclaimer warning potential adopters that not all rescueorganizations are vetted.

Although the Humane Society says 4-figure adoption fees area red flag, Lamb said In Our Hands pays only a small portion of the $1,500adoption fee directly to breeders. The vast majority of the money, shesays, goes to veterinary care, boarding, and transporting dogs.

To help defend her nonprofit against its critics, Lamb askedthe I-Team to interview a series of volunteers and satisfied adopters who saidthe organization fills a gap that traditional rescue organizations ignore.

“The popularity of these ‘doodle’ breeds means there is going to be overbreeding, and there are going to be a lot of puppies that are going to become collateral damage,” said Bryna Levin, a long-time In Our Hands volunteer who adopted from the group. “It’s not the dogs’ fault that they become unwanted for whatever reason.”

“These breeders will kill them, 100 percent,” said EmilyWells, another volunteer who helps organize adoption events.

Sam Attia, an independent rescuer who works with In OurHands, agreed, suggesting unethical breeders would rather euthanize puppieswith slight imperfections than sell them for a discount.

“They don’t want to drive to New York City and haggle,” Attia said.“They want the guaranteed sale for $3,000 or $4,000.”

Josh Appelbaum and Eliot Ramirez both adopted dogs from InOur Hands and cautioned critics not to be so quick to denounce the practice ofpaying breeders for rescue puppies.

“If thealternative is for that dog to be euthanized, I would call it a rescue,” saidAppelbaum.

“It’s absolutelya grey area,” Ramirez said.

Outside an adoption event on Manhattan’s 2^nd Avenue last month, the driver who transported a van packed with designer puppies and a few adult dogs said he didn’t consider the source of the animals to be unethical breeders.

“No, I wouldn't call them puppy mills,” the driver said. “They are sometimes hobby breeders. Hobby breeders sometimes only have like one or two litters a year.”

When asked howit was the puppies were being called “rescues,” the driver said he didn’t knowall the details.

In Our Hands said that van driver was misinformed because he picked the load of dogs up from an ethical Ohio kennel — where they had been housed for two weeks after they were purchased from the bad actors.

“The van driverwouldn’t know where they come from,” Lamb said. “He never deals with thebreeders.”

One reasoncriticism persists among adopters is that In Our Hands refuses to disclose fromwhich breeders the designer puppies are saved. Lamb says if she istransparent about that, the breeders will stop handing over puppies destinedfor euthanasia.

“The second Iexpose them is the second they will no longer give me those dogs. Theywill shut me out and they will kill each one of those dogs.”

Melissa Goitia,who adopted a puppy last year, said it doesn’t seem plausible that unethicalbreeders would just kill puppies when dozens of people are lining up to pay$1,500 adoption fees.

“Especially with these designer breeds, I mean what other rescue organization or shelter do you see having Goldendoodles?” Goitia said. "It's really absurd when you think about it.”